Think you need to be an extrovert to close $20 million a year? Think again.

Darren Ricketts scored 4% on his behavioral assessment for "mega agent"—literally the worst possible job match. This year he'll close over $20 million in Eugene, Oregon, running a lean operation with one other agent and two admins.

In this episode, Katie DeWitt sits down with Darren to unpack how he built a dominant real estate business as a 6'8" introvert who doesn't cold call, came from IT, and works entirely within his natural wiring instead of fighting against it.

This conversation covers:

Why your personality isn't your problem—your system is, and how to build around your actual strengths instead of forcing someone else's playbook

The database management strategy that maintains a 1-in-3 lead conversion ratio when most agents need 20 leads to close one deal

How to systematically work your B and C leads instead of constantly chasing new business (including a real example of a $125K lead that became a $390K sale 18 months later)

The "orphan client" strategy that doubles your database from every transaction you close

Why the top producers are always terrified their business is about to fall apart—and how that fear fuels better systems

The exact follow-up formula that keeps past clients engaged every two weeks without manual effort

Why working from home is probably killing your production (and what to do about it even if you can't afford an office)

When to hire your first assistant: not when you can afford it, but when your business actually needs it

If you've ever felt like you're not extroverted enough, not "salesy" enough, or not flashy enough to make it big in real estate, this episode will completely reframe how you think about building sustainable, high-volume production.

Key Quote: "Everybody on my team knows their number one job is to help me have more conversations with people. End of list."

This is real talk from an agent doing real volume. No fluff. Just systems, psychology, and uncomfortable truths about what it actually takes to dominate in this industry.

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You can scale to 53 agents across five states and still be trapped in a business you built with your own hands. David Queen learned this lesson the hard way, through weight gain, physical pain, and the sinking realization that he'd become a prisoner to his own success.

This episode isn't about fitness tips or motivational fluff. It's about the uncomfortable truth most agents refuse to confront: your business is only as strong as the foundation it's built on. And that foundation is you.

David dropped 65 pounds in eight months, but what he gained was far more valuable: clarity on what it actually takes to build sustainable success in an industry that glorifies burnout. He stopped accepting excuses disguised as explanations. He embraced temporary imbalance to create permanent capacity. He rebuilt himself so he could show up as the leader his business actually needed.

If you're carrying stress, anxiety, physical discomfort, or just a nagging sense that you're sacrificing too much of yourself for your production goals, this conversation will challenge everything you think is inevitable about your situation.

Key Themes:

Why physical transformation teaches business lessons nothing else can

The myth of balance and why strategic imbalance is required for mastery

How to stop accepting decline as inevitable and start controlling what you actually can

Why confidence isn't separate from strategy—it IS your strategy

The real cost of building a business that requires you to be someone you don't want to be

How delayed gratification in fitness translates directly to sustainable business growth

Why self-leadership is the only leadership that actually matters

The Bottom Line: The one thing no market downturn, difficult client, or team challenge can ever take from you is your commitment to becoming the best version of yourself. Everything else you're trying to build depends on that foundation being solid.

Stop chasing the next tactic and start building the capacity to execute on the tactics you already know work. The next level doesn't start with a new system. It starts with you deciding you're worth the investment.

Ready to discover what your next level actually looks like? Learn more about joining a community of agents who refuse to accept mediocrity at nextlevelagents.com/exp

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What if the secret to selling luxury real estate to out-of-state buyers wasn't about being everywhere—but about being somewhere specific, with killer video content that does the traveling for you?

Tristan O'Grady sells an average of $100 million annually in Hilton Head's luxury market, with an average sale price around $2 million. But here's what makes his story different: 80% of his buyers have never set foot on the island before seeing his videos.

In this episode, guest host Katie DeWitt sits down with Tristan to break down how he's built a 70-agent team under the Coast brand at eXp, expanded into five separate "legs" of leadership, and used strategic video marketing to turn California movie producers and out-of-state buyers into multi-million dollar clients—all while maintaining that physical office space matters, even in a virtual brokerage world.

Key Insights from This Episode:

The exact video strategy that generated a $20M commission windfall from one luxury listing

Why "boutique local branding" crushes national chain recognition in sophisticated markets

How to scale to 150+ agents in your downline without drowning in day-to-day management

The leverage model that lets you sell $100M personally while building empire simultaneously

Why setting appointment-only office hours solves 99% of agent questions before they're asked

The truth about growing talent vs. recruiting proven performers (and when to do each)

This isn't about working harder. It's about working smarter—with video that travels for you, systems that scale without your constant attention, and the guts to invest in physical space when everyone else is going fully virtual.

Ready to build your own Coast-style empire? Learn more about the eXp opportunity and Next Level Agents community at https://nextlevelagents.com/exp/

About Next Level Agents: Next Level Agents is the podcast for real estate agents who are done with mediocrity and ready for massive growth. Hosted by Kevin Kauffman, we bring you strategies, mindset shifts, and behind-the-scenes access to top performers who are breaking barriers and building empires. Whether you're looking to scale your team, master luxury markets, or leverage the eXp model to its fullest potential—this is where agents come to level up.

​​Please leave us a review at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/nla⁠⁠

You crushed it as a solo agent. Closed deal after deal. Made more money than you ever imagined. So you started a team—and everything fell apart.

Sound familiar?

In this episode, Kevin sits down with Matt Smith, a team leader who sold 74 homes his first full year in real estate and now leads 40 agents closing 700 deals annually across three Missouri locations. But the journey from top producer to successful team leader nearly destroyed him multiple times.

Matt doesn't hold back. He reveals why most agents build teams for completely wrong reasons, why your ego is the biggest obstacle to scaling, and the three critical growth ceilings that trap even successful team leaders.

This conversation will challenge everything you think you know about leadership, team building, and success in real estate.

Key Topics Covered:

Why being great at sales doesn't make you great at leadership

The ego problem that keeps top producers stuck as beginner leaders

Three critical sticking points that prevent teams from scaling

How to transition from leading salespeople to leading leaders

Why personal responsibility is your ultimate superpower

The investment paradox: what if you pour everything into people and they leave?

How the speed of the leader determines the pace of the pack

Why you need to stop playing the victim and accept full responsibility

Building a culture so strong that top talent never wants to leave

About Matt Smith:

Matt Smith leads the Matt Smith Team at eXp Realty, operating across three locations in Missouri including Lake of the Ozarks. After selling 74 homes in his first full year (2014), he started his team in 2016 and has grown it to 40 agents projected to close 700 deals this year while maintaining 20% market share in his primary marketplace for seven consecutive years. Matt is also a coach helping other team leaders break through growth ceilings and co-hosts the Built For More podcast with Dustin Runyon.

​​Please leave us a review at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/nla⁠⁠

Your communication skills are either making you money or costing you deals. There's no in-between.

In this episode, we sit down with powerhouse Ari Jakobov, who's closed $100 million in sales in just four years by mastering the one skill most agents ignore: strategic communication. Ari breaks down the exact frameworks, tonality shifts, and questioning strategies that have helped him build a team of 23 agents, grow a 50-agent eXp organization, and secure multi-million-dollar listings—even in the most competitive markets.

This isn't theory. It's tactical, immediately actionable, and designed for the chaos of real-world real estate conversations.

In this episode, you'll learn:

The five-minute energy shift that helps you show up confident and dialed in before every high-stakes conversation

The six types of questions every top producer uses to guide prospects to reveal their problems out loud (so you never have to "pitch" again)

Why result-based thinking closes more deals than process-based thinking—and how to flip the script immediately

The power of identity framing (and how Ari used it to turn a hostile expired seller into two listings worth $10+ million)

Pattern interrupts that break through the mental gatekeeper and keep cold calls from ending in two seconds

How tonality creates authority, builds rapport, and disarms objections without sounding salesy

The follow-up framework that trains prospects to actually want to hear from you

Why top producers practice communication skills for 45 minutes every single day (and why you should too)

If you've ever lost a deal because of how you said something—or didn't say it at all—this episode will change how you approach every conversation from here on out.

Ready to level up your communication and start winning more deals? Learn more about joining a community of agents committed to mastery at https://nextlevelagents.com/exp/

Your turn: What's one communication tactic you're going to implement this week? Let us know—tag us on Instagram or LinkedIn and share your takeaway from this episode.

Subscribe to Next Level Agents so you never miss a strategy, and check out our events tab at nextlevelagents.com to find our next virtual or in-person mastermind. Let's keep this momentum rolling.

​​Please leave us a review at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/nla⁠⁠

What does it take to move an entire brokerage—160 agents strong—to a completely new platform in just four weeks?

Trust. Conviction. And a willingness to make fact-based decisions that put your people first, even when it's uncomfortable.

LeAnne Weathers did exactly that. She evaluated the opportunities her agents were missing, made a decision based on data instead of ego, and executed with total conviction.

The result? Almost all of her agents followed her to eXp Realty, not because she convinced them, but because she'd spent years building the kind of trust that makes radical change possible.

In this episode, LeAnne breaks down:

• Why she spent sleepless nights worrying about reactions that never came

• How to make massive decisions based on facts instead of feelings

• What her agents were missing that she couldn't provide as an independent brokerage

• Why she calls eXp a "platform" instead of a brokerage (and why that distinction matters)

• How to execute with speed without sacrificing thoughtfulness

• The "all gas, no brakes" leadership style that separates transformers from maintainers

• Why recruiting (yes, the hard R) solves almost every business problem when done with integrity

This episode isn't just for brokerage owners. It's for anyone leading a team, making big decisions, or wondering how to build the kind of trust that makes people follow you into uncertainty.

If you've ever avoided making a move because you were worried about offending someone or upsetting the status quo, this conversation will challenge you to rethink what real leadership actually looks like.

Ready to explore what's possible with eXp?

Learn more at https://nextlevelagents.com/exp/

​​Please leave us a review at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/nla⁠⁠

Curtis Johnson has been running a real estate team for 26 years. He's sold 200+ homes annually for 23 consecutive years straight. Hit 100 million in production this year. And he's got a message that might make you uncomfortable: You're not struggling because the market is hard. You're struggling because you're distracted.

Most agents are trying to do everything. Open houses one day. Expired calls the next. Door knocking. Social media. AI experiments. Crypto on the side. No depth. No mastery. No results. Curtis breaks down why picking two or three activities and going deep is the only path to consistent production.

But here's where it gets uncomfortable: He also explains how high price points are hiding your lack of work ethic. Agents selling 8-10 homes a year feel successful because commissions are fat. Drop prices back to pre-inflation levels and half of you would be broke. You're not great. The market is just carrying you.

This conversation is packed with hard truths about focus, credibility, reverse engineering your goals, and why most agents are building noise instead of results.

Key themes we cover:

The two-to-three rule: Why trying more than three lead generation activities guarantees you'll fail

How to build credibility before you amplify your brand through social media and AI

Why you should reverse engineer from your goal backward instead of from where you are forward

The honest truth about teams versus building an EXP organization in today's market

What it actually takes to lead something significant and why most people aren't willing to pay the price

Why high home prices are masking incompetence across the industry

How to know if you're scattered or strategic with your daily activities

If you're tired of dabbling and ready to dominate, Curtis lays out exactly what separates producers from pretenders. No fluff. No BS. Just 26 years of battle-tested wisdom.

Ready to stop being distracted and start building something real? Learn more about joining a community focused on mastery at nextlevelagents.com/exp.

​​Please leave us a review at ⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/nla⁠⁠

When interest rates jumped in 2022, Adam Rutledge discovered something brutal: half his team weren't real estate agents, they were order takers riding a hot market. The moment conditions shifted, the pretenders disappeared and the real salespeople had to adapt.

Adam runs Rutledge Property Group in Medford, Oregon, owns 84 rental properties, and is projecting 100 million in sales next year. But here's what makes this conversation different: he's not selling you a course or a secret system. He's challenging you to get brutally honest about whether you're actually doing the basics that work.

This episode will either fire you up or make you uncomfortable. Probably both.

Key themes we dig into:

The 20 conversation rule: Why hitting 100 two-way conversations per week about real estate is the only metric that matters

How to use AI role-play to practice scripts before high-stakes appointments (instead of practicing on actual clients)

Why 90% of agents have never read their purchase and sale agreement cover to cover, and how that's costing them deals

The Q4 challenge structure Adam's team is running through December 31st to set up a killer 2026

Golden handcuffs: How giving your team ownership (not just perks) creates retention that survives market shifts

Leading vs lagging indicators: Why chasing paychecks keeps you in feast-famine cycles

The shift from authoritarian team leadership to invitation and buy-in

If you've been waiting for someone to hand you the secret formula, this isn't that episode. But if you're ready to stop making excuses and start doing the uncomfortable work that actually produces results, Adam's blueprint will show you exactly where to focus.

Real estate is a contact sport. And if you're not making contacts consistently, you're gambling that the market will stay easy forever.

Ready to level up your game and join a community that's done with shortcuts? Learn more about Next Level Agents at https://nextlevelagents.com/exp/

​​Please leave us a review at ⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/nla⁠⁠

In today’s episode, I’m joined by our longtime friend and collaborator, Brian Gubernick. We’ve known Brian since the early days of our real estate careers, and over the years, he’s worn many hats in the industry. He’s fired up by the concept of doing something, anything every single day to get better and it’s reflected in the kind of businesses he’s built and the contributions he’s made, including starting a mastermind business. 

Brian Gubernick is a 15+ year residential real estate industry veteran, having held the roles of real estate investor, sales agent, sales team owner/leader, expansion (multi-state) team owner, brokerage operating partner, coach/trainer, and corporate executive. He is the co-founder of the Metrix Mastermind, Chief Real Estate Officer at PLACE and host of No Days Off. 

In our industry, the word mastermind gets thrown around a lot, but what most people call masterminds are actually just classes. To be clear, there’s obviously a time and a place for lessons and being talked at, but that’s not what masterminds are designed for. 

The whole point is getting a group of high performing individuals together in a room and allowing them to collaborate, brainstorm, pick apart what they are doing in order to improve it. The different vantage points, the space to prompt thoughts and ideas, and harnessing the collective genius is what makes masterminds so powerful. 

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In today’s episode, we’re talking about our decision to join Place, the thought process behind this move, and the value proposition Place delivers to real estate teams. When you hear about Place and many top real estate teams joining it, you probably wonder why a team in a brokerage like eXp would want to bolt on this set of services to their organization. Place encompasses a lot and brings a ton of value to the table. We’re going to share why we believe in Place and the team behind it, the opportunities we’re going to create for our agents and staff, and why the whole industry needs to be paying attention to it. 

We believe that it would have been irresponsible not to join Place, especially with where real estate is headed. We believe in Place’s system and what Ben Kinney and Chris Suarez are doing - it’s the right way to operate a real estate team today, and it would be hard for any team to top or even match what they are bringing to the table.

We get to latch onto something that’s already headed in the right direction, and our agents and staff are going to get the value proposition they deserve.

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